Happy birthday, Dave!

I asked Mabes this morning why she liked "Horsey Daddy," and her response was fast--"Because he's SILLY!" Further prodding revealed that she likes him because she loves him and because he's silly. Very insightful and helpful, Mabes, thanks.

Dave shows off his silly side and strawberries.

While we may not be able to list all the great things about Dave, I'd like to mention a few highlights. First, he's hilarious. Dave has a quick wit and dry sense of humor, people often tell me how funny Dave is, but how they missed it at first. Yeah, me too. But once I "got" him, we became great friends, and I've been laughing daily ever since. Also, he's incredibly smart and hardworking, another thing I didn't truly appreciate until getting to know him. He analyzes everything (which can be annoying when we're ordering dinner, but it's good in a school/business environment), and has a memory for facts and trivia worthy of competing with my dad. Despite an apparent case of food poisoning, he's spent his birthday hard at work when not doubled over in pain.

And finally, he's there. In college, I thought it was funny that Dave was always the last one to go home. After Mabes was born, I blamed Dave for her wakefulness, insisting she got the fear of missing something from him. But for as much as I tease him about it, I really do appreciate how much Dave wants to spend time with us. I hear so many moms complain about how their husbands come home from work and then go out with friends, or golf all weekend, or just ignore their kids and watch TV. I've never had that issue with Dave. If Dave watches ESPN or Jeopardy while Mabes is still awake, he's building trains or reading books with her at the same time. I try to get him to go golfing on Saturdays, but he doesn't like the idea of missing out on family time for Dave time. We appreciate this.

So happy birthday, Dave. Hope you feel better, and who knows? Maybe I can talk you into going golfing on Saturday.